Sources claim that when federal investigators detained eight Tajiki males earlier this month, they thought that there may have been a terrorist attack on US soil.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained the eight males, who were residents of Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia, and accused them of breaking civil US immigration law.
As for the eight Tajik nationals, two of the individuals who talked to CBS on condition of anonymity said they are still in ICE detention pending immigration proceedings.
There is no evidence to support the idea that a targeted attack was planned, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the inquiry who spoke with CBS News.
According to reports, the detainees entered the US across the southwest border between 2023 and 2024 and are associated with ISIS.
Immigration authorities did not, however, have any information at the time linking them to the terrorist organization.
According to a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, the migrants who had entered the country without the required papers were then apprehended and released within the country with summons to appear in immigration court.
Subsequently, sources told federal law enforcement that the men were within the US and probably had ties to ISIS.
A joint FBI task force was formed to look into the matter.
According to one of the individuals, the investigators monitored their contacts and tracked their actions on social media, including chat rooms and encrypted websites.
After learning that the people might have been affiliated with ISIS, the FBI acquired a court-approved FISA warrant. The males were also under surveillance by investigators.
The investigation is ongoing, and as of right now, the individuals are not facing any accusations connected to terrorism.
The Justice Department did not want to respond.
“The eight men are, in fact, in custody,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated in response to an inquiry regarding the arrests.
“We did not have derogatory information when they were first encountered,” he said.